U.S. towns look to develop microgrids to stave off outages

ALBANY, N.Y. – An upstate New York town that repeatedly found itself without power for days during a string of storms is planning a dramatic step by pulling its municipal buildings entirely off the electric grid.

The decision by Nassau to rely on solar, wind, landfill gas and battery storage by 2020 puts the town of 5,000 near Albany on the leading edge of a national campaign to develop “microgrids” designed to make communities more energy independent and the grid more resilient.

While only a few communities have become early adopters and natural disasters have been a driving force, proponents